New and Used Skiff Boats for Sale

Skiff boats are small, simple, open boats that come in many different styles and can be used for lots of different activities. They’re lightweight, trailerable, and popular as inexpensive fishing boats. Search for new and used skiff boats for sale locally, and refine your search by brand, model, and price.

Main Characteristics of Skiff Boats

Defining the term skiff isn’t always straightforward but, essentially, they are small, lightweight, open, and fairly simple boats with no complex electrical or plumbing systems. Most are powered by a motor, although that’s not a hard and fast rule, and some small open sailboats or even row boats can even be categorized as a skiff.

Skiffs tend to be quite simple, having only the basics such as functional seating and often some fishing accessories. However, they can be customized to offer more extras to make them better-suited to their intended use. Size-wise, skiffs are usually around 15 to 17 feet, although there are skiffs up to around 20 feet in length. They can be easily trailered to lakes and other inland waterways, and many models are built in aluminum making them even lighter and more transportable. They often have a flattish hull, allowing them to access even the shallowest of fishing grounds.

Types of Skiff Boats

Fishing Skiff Boats

Most skiffs are used for angling, and different styles are better suited to different types of fishing and fishing grounds. While skiffs tend to be basic boats, with not much more than an engine and seating, they do usually come equipped with basic fishing accessories such as rod holders and storage lockers. Other features can include livewells, fishing platforms, and trolling motors. Whether crabbing, freshwater fishing, or even duck hunting, a skiff is the ideal lightweight, flat-bottomed vessel to get into the most awkward of destinations.

Flats Skiff Boats

Flats skiffs boats are designed for a very specific purpose and chosen by serious anglers. They can navigate the protected, shallow water areas to pursue certain fish species (‘flats’ as they’re known) and offer more power than many other types of skiff. They generally have a range of V-shaped hulls and more fishing accessories than usual, such as swivel casting chairs.

Micro Skiff Boats

As the name implies, micro skiffs are ultra-compact models that are very lightweight, easy to pop on a trailer, and equally easy to launch, even in the trickiest of places. Designed for just two anglers, they are flat-bottomed, with a simple design, small engines, and basic fishing accessories. Able to navigate even the shallowest of waters, micro skiffs offer the chance to get out on the lakes with ease and affordability.

Sailboat Skiffs

A skiff can be any boat that is small and open (even rowing boats could be classified as skiffs), so certain types of small sailboats can easily be classified as skiffs, too. With a single mast and simple rigging, they are often used for teaching beginners, with boats such as the well-known Optimist Dinghy falling into this category.

Best Skiff Boat Brands

There are many excellent skiff boat brands producing these robust, versatile, simple boats for various purposes. It’s worth noting that when searching for a skiff to buy, they may be categorized as something else, such as a Jon boat or sailboat, for example. With many similarities, they can often be classified as two different types. Tracker for example, a well-known American brand, offers a broad range of high-quality, value-for-money aluminum skiffs that are classified as Jon boats thanks to their aft seating area. Even Boston Whaler has boats that could easily be classified as skiffs at the smaller end of their ranges.

Other top brands include Mako and Caroline Skiff with their ranges of fishing skiffs, and C Hawk, whose skiffs are renowned for use in rough water. While there are many brands out there with years of experience in producing skiffs, newcomers to the market such as Veer are making waves with innovative ultra-lightweight, affordable electric models.

Micro skiffs are on the rise, with brands including Hell’s Bay and Solo Skiff offering a range of rotomolded, flat-bottomed, no frills skiffs, while flats skiff brands include the likes of Maverick and Hewes.

Why Choose a Skiff Boat?

A skiff boat offers an affordable way to get out on the water for a day of fishing or lake cruising. They are simple, no-frills boats, often with a flat bottom and small engine, and are easy to put on a trailer and launch, even single-handedly. Skiffs tend to fall into other categories such as Jon boats or even small open sailboats or rowboats.